TP Bennett approval spells end for RHWL’s PoMo office scheme | News

City of London Corporation’s planning and transportation committee gave the green light to the AJ100 top 20 practice’s proposals for Stonecutter Court in Midtown last week.

The scheme will involve demolishing two 1990s buildings – 81 Farringdon Street and RHWL’s 1 Stonecutter Court – replacing them with a wedge-shaped, glass-fronted tower providing 31,383m² of office space as well as 1,820m² of shopping at ground level.

A Grade II-listed 18th-century building on the site, which has been used as a pub for almost 200 years, will be retained.

Planning officers recommended approval of the scheme. ‘The proposed 13-storey building responds to the scale of its recently constructed neighbours,’ they said in a report to councillors.

‘Its massing has been determined by the need to conform to the London View Management Framework, which has required cutbacks on the north-eastern side, and to create an appropriate architectural response to its immediate surroundings.’

The scheme, for developers Greycoat Real Estate and Ivanhoe Cambridge, is close to Fleet Street Conservation Area.

TP Bennett director James Elliott said: ‘The appearance and materials have been carefully chosen to reflect the local area’s history and indeed future and ensure the amenities respond to new tech, creative and city commerce that are all attracted to this fast-changing mid-town location.’

Greycoat Real Estate director Dan Higginson added: ‘The building is designed to reflect the needs of the area’s diverse occupier base; it benefits from efficient floorplates with great natural light, indoor and outdoor amenity spaces, and world-class facilities for cyclists and runners.’